Carlos Sainz’s great dilemma for the next Formula 1 World Cup

Competing with Fernando Alonso is not easy, but this weekend, in Montmeló, Carlos Sainz receives more attention than the Asturian, guarded by a crust of people every step he takes, whether inside the paddock as outside, where fans can’t quite believe that he is the one who walks, jogs or runs, depending on the urgency to escape the crowd. Sainz will face his last Spanish Grand Prix this Sunday (3:00 p.m., Dazn) wearing the Ferrari suit, the most universal symbol in the world of racing, which next year will incorporate Lewis Hamilton into his position. An explosive combination, at least in terms of marketing, that has pushed the Madrid native to have to look for a car with a view to 2025. The hangover that Hamilton’s operation left behind motivated the Spaniard’s first impulse to try to get the Mercedes that the multi-time champion will leave free, or with the Red Bull that would have been returned to the same workshop as Max Verstappen, alongside whom he debuted in the World Championship (2015), in Toro Rosso. What happens is that Mercedes seems to want to bet on an in-house product and will most likely promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a young Italian from its quarry, at the same time that the energy team is not up for experiments, a circumstance that led it to renew to Checo Pérez. This being the case, Sainz’s next destination is inevitably seen as a step backwards, given that his main girlfriends occupy the last two positions in the manufacturers’ statistics, while the Scuderia appears in second place.

Unless an unexpected wild card appears, the rider’s options are two: Williams or Sauber. Each of the two alternatives has its strengths, which the executives have been responsible for highlighting to try to seduce the son of the two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1992). By record, the British team is far above the Swiss team, which is going through a period of transformation waiting for Audi to take control in 2026. However, the Williams of now has nothing to do with the one that shone with its own light in the eighties and nineties, with seven drivers’ crowns and nine constructors’ crowns. After leaving behind the link with the family of Sir Frank Williams, its co-founder (1997) with Sir Patrick Head, the Grove structure (Great Britain) is in the hands of the Dorilton Capital fund, which acquired it in 2020 for 180 million euros. James Vowles, director of Williams, no longer knows what more declarations of love to make to convince Sainz, whom he has been pointing out for weeks as his first candidate to replace Logan Sargeant. “He is a winning driver, who last year, against all odds, beat Max [Verstappen] in Singapore thanks to a brilliant performance. He is intelligent in the way he approaches things, he uses logic very well and is incredibly fast,” the engineer complimented him, just a few days ago.

The main argument in favor of Vowles is the alliance between Williams and Mercedes, of whom he was strategy director until last year. “There is a reason why I left Mercedes to come here. “This is not the Williams of the past, and I think that, first of all, the fact that we have Sainz on our list is significant enough, and shows where we are going,” added the executive. “We are ready to have one of the best pairs of drivers [Sainz y Alex Albon] Of the grill. If we succeed, it will undoubtedly mark the beginning of a new era. We are investing tens, if not hundreds of millions, to take this team where he was,” Vowles ventured.

On the opposite side is Sauber, whose bet would represent a kind of impassefor the Ferrari one. The takeover of Audi as a manufacturer will not occur imminently, and Sainz, logically, is somewhat dizzy about what may happen in 2025. The Hinwil (Switzerland) formation announced the arrival of Nico Hulkenberg, and his intention is complete the lineup with Sainz. “I think that, as far as drivers are concerned, we have already been quite clear. Audi will enter F1 in 2026, and we will be its factory team. This is a long-term project for the entire Volkswagen group,” commented Alessandro Alunni Bravi, director of Sauber, this week. “We are talking to several candidates, and Sainz is among them. What we want are runners who are committed and look to the future,” added the Italian.

Sainz had focused on taking the wheel and driving, but he is now aware that the time has come to solve the equation that conditions him, and others. From his emergence with Toro Rosso he moved to Renault (2017), then he fell in love with McLaren (2019) and that catapulted him to Ferrari (2021). Now he must decide which will be his fifth team in eleven years. “It’s time to make a decision. I still don’t know what I’m going to do, and that’s why I haven’t announced anything yet,” says the Spaniard, who will start sixth this Sunday, after a qualifying session dominated by Lando Norris, who took second. pole of their life. The Briton will lead the grid alongside Verstappen (second) while Fernando Alonso will start eleventh.

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